It’s time to take a look back at one of our favorite ‘90s stars, one of the ultimate kick-ass girls of the era, none other than… Sarah Michelle Gellar! Consistently working since she was a child, Sarah Michelle Gellar has racked up an impressive resume of memorable roles, with, of course, Buffy Summers taking the cake. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves! Let’s take a look back at her career and celebrate all of her memorable ‘90s roles!
Sarah’s early career started at a young age when at just the age of four, she was spotted by an agent in a restaurant in Manhattan. This led to her first role in a television film called An Invasion of Privacy, which aired on CBS in 1983. From there, she went on to do a number of commercials, one of the most memorable being for Burger King, where she was part of what can arguably be called the first attack ads against rival McDonald’s.
Her big break came a few years later when she got some roles on a couple of soap operas, Swans Crossing and All My Children. These led to her most memorable role of Buffy, which cemented her as a ‘90s dream girl and catapulted her to stardom and Scream Queen status. In 1998, she appeared on Entertainment Weekly‘s Top 12 Entertainers of the Year and the “Most Beautiful” list by People magazine. In 1999, she signed on to be the face of Maybelline, becoming the company’s first celebrity spokeswoman since Lynda Carter in the late 1970s.
It was during this It Girl period that she met her future husband Freddie Prinze Jr. when they worked together on the film I Know What You Did Last Summer (starring another ‘90s dream girl: Jennifer Love Hewitt). They didn’t start dating right away, though, it took a few years and a clandestine dinner before they considered each other romantically. The rest, as they say, is history. They’ve been married since 2002 and have two children together.
Before we look back at some of her most memorable roles from the ‘90s, take a look at all of the commercials we could find her in:
Swans Crossing (1992)
Sarah starred as Sydney Rutledge in the short-lived 30 minute soap Swans Crossing, which was all about the lives, loves, and intrigues of twelve wealthy teenagers who stir up scandal and excitement in their small town.
All My Children (1993 - 1995)
One of the most famous soap operas, All My Children, has starred the likes of Susan Lucci, Kelly Ripa, Mark Consuelos, and, of course, Sarah Michelle Gellar, who starred on the show from 1993-1995 as Kendall Hart, the long-lost daughter of Susan Lucci’s character Erica Kane.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997 - 2003)
Of course, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is Sarah’s most famous role. The show was not immediately popular when it came out, though, and was based on a largely panned movie starring Kristy Swanson. But when the sharp writing and serialized stories started gelling in the latter half of season one into season two, the show was slowly on its way to becoming a cult classic.
I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997)
In I Know What You Did Last Summer, Sarah played Helen Shivers (what a name!), one of a group of teenagers that think they killed someone the previous year. Of course, this being a horror movie, that isn’t what really happened. It’s a fun teen horror flick that stars a whole cadre of stars of that period in addition to Sarah – her future husband Freddie Prinze Jr., Jennifer Love Hewitt, and Ryan Phillippe.
Scream 2 (1997)
Continuing the tradition of killing off a famous person in a cameo scene, in Scream 2 that honor belongs to Sarah. The Scream franchise is definitely one of the best in the horror genre, with Scream 2 doing a great job at skewering the whole notion of sequels being terrible while also doing a pretty good job of living up to the original.
Simply Irresistible (1999)
Simply Irresistible is a kinda kooky romantic comedy where Sarah stars as a mediocre chef who gets a magical crab (yes, you read that right) that suddenly makes her dishes amazing and induce strong emotional reactions in those who eat them. Naturally, a rival chef enters the picture and they fall in love. Let’s be honest, this movie isn’t the best, but it’s one of the only times you’ll see Sarah in a romcom.
Cruel Intentions (1999)
Sarah tries on her bad girl shoes in Cruel Intentions, where she stars as the kinda evil sister of Ryan Phillippe’s character, making a bet that he can’t bed a girl (Reese Witherspoon) who says she’ll stay pure until marriage. The movie has become something of a cult classic, in no small part to Sarah’s unexpected kissing scene with Selma Blair.
What’s your favorite role of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s from the ‘90s? Let us know in the comments!
- Sarah’s parents divorced when she was young, and she never really had a relationship with her father.
- Co-Founded Foodstirs Modern Baking with Galit Laibow, Greg Fleishman, and Gia Russo in 2015. She sold off her remaining stake in 2022.
- Her father was of Russian Jewish descent, and her maternal grandparents were Hungarian Jewish immigrants.
- Sarah has been nominated for and won numerous awards throughout her career, and won a Daytime Emmy for her role on All My Children.
- Sarah has been an active advocate for various charities, including breast cancer research, Project Angel Food, Habitat for Humanity, and CARE.
- Sarah’s parents divorced when she was young, and she never really had a relationship with her father.
- Co-Founded Foodstirs Modern Baking with Galit Laibow, Greg Fleishman, and Gia Russo in 2015. She sold off her remaining stake in 2022.
- Her father was of Russian Jewish descent, and her maternal grandparents were Hungarian Jewish immigrants.
- Sarah has been nominated for and won numerous awards throughout her career, and won a Daytime Emmy for her role on All My Children.
- Sarah has been an active advocate for various charities, including breast cancer research, Project Angel Food, Habitat for Humanity, and CARE.
